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Types of Thyristor

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Types of Thyristor

1. Light-controlled thyristor, also known as a light-triggered thyristor, uses a certain wavelength of the light signal instead of the electrical signal to trigger the device. The volt-ampere characteristics of the light-controlled thyristor are the same as those of the ordinary thyristor, but its forward turning voltage gradually decreases as the light signal becomes stronger.


Usually, thyristor has 3 electrodes, control electrode G, anode A and cathode K. Since the control signal of the photo-controlled thyristor come from the illumination of light, there is no need to lead out the control electrode, so there are only two electrodes (anode A and cathode K). But its structure is the same as that of an ordinary thyristor, which is composed of 4-layer PNP type devices.


Except for the different trigger signals, the light-controlled thyristor is basically the same as the ordinary thyristor. Therefore, it can be used according to the principle of ordinary thyristor, as long as it is light-controlled.


2. The thyristor can be turned off


Let's take a look at the turn-off thyristor, which is a power semiconductor device that controls the turn-on and turn-off of the device through the gate. GTO not only has the advantages of the ordinary thyristor (high withstand voltage, large current, strong surge resistance, and low price) but also has the advantages of GTR (self-shutdown ability, no auxiliary shutdown circuit, easy to use). A high-power switching device in high-voltage and large-capacity applications. It is widely used in inverters of electric locomotives, dynamic reactive power compensation of power grids, and high-power DC chopper speed regulation.


The structure of the thyristor that can be turned off is the same as that of the ordinary unidirectional thyristor, which is also composed of PNPN four-layer semiconductors, and there are also three external electrodes, namely gate G, anode A, and cathode K. Ordinary unidirectional thyristor only constitutes a unit device, while the turn-off thyristor constitutes a multi-component power integrated device, which contains dozens or even hundreds of small GTO units with common anodes. To achieve gate-controlled turn-off, the cathodes and gates of these small GTO cells are specially designed to be paralleled within the device.


3. Fast thyristor


Let's look at the fast thyristor again. The fast thyristor is a derivative of the ordinary thyristor and is mainly used for induction heating medium frequency power supply devices. It is a thyristor that is used for higher frequency rectification, inverter, and frequency conversion circuits, and can work at frequencies above 400Hz. Depending on the current capacity, the turn-on time is 4 to 8 microseconds, and the turn-off time is 10 to 60 microseconds. Mainly used for higher frequency rectification, chopper, inverter, and frequency conversion circuits.


The basic structure of a fast thyristor is similar to that of an ordinary thyristor, but the design of its gate pattern is more complicated to adapt to the characteristics of intermediate frequency applications. Due to the use of a special process to reduce the life, the fast thyristor switching characteristics are greatly improved, and the turn-off time is greatly shortened, but this is not conducive to the device's on-state characteristics, inrush current, and other performance. These contradictions should be considered in the device design as a whole, and users should also choose specific teaching requirements according to the actual application.


4. Two-way thyristor


Let's take a look at the bidirectional thyristor. The bidirectional thyristor is made of N-P-N-P-N five-layer semiconductor material, and it also leads to three electrodes. A triac is equivalent to an inverse parallel connection of two unidirectional thyristors, but with only one control pole. Like unidirectional thyristors, triacs also have trigger control characteristics. However, its trigger control characteristics are very different from those of unidirectional thyristors, that is, no matter what polarity voltage is connected between the anode and the cathode, as long as a trigger pulse is added to its control pole, no matter the pulse Whatever polarity it is, the triac can be turned on. Although the triac can be regarded as a combination of two ordinary thyristors in form, it is actually a powerful integrated device composed of 7 transistors and multiple resistors.


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